Elegant gourmet recipes would be great for Mother’s Day brunch. But they require cooking and grocery shopping skills that, in many households, are possessed exclusively by mom. Isn’t she supposed to get a break on her special Sunday?

More than expensive gifts, most mothers love spending time with their families and are touched when loved ones spend time on them.

PADDLE BACK IN TIME WITH OUTSIDE HILTON HEAD DURING A TRIP TO PAGE ISLAND

More than three centuries have passed since the Yemassee left their historic home in the Georgia mountains, looking to escape encroachment by Spanish settlers and make a new life amid the bountiful land and waters around what we now know as Hilton Head and Daufuskie islands.

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Hilton Head Island Magazine and News

Tough situations call for strong leaders. And after Hilton Head Island Middle School received a rating of “unsatisfactory” on the latest state schools report card, new principal Pat Freda is working hard to help turn it around.

District officials knew the school wasn’t thriving and at the end of last year and tapped Freda, who was then principal at Bluffton Middle School, to lead its recovery.

Historic St. James Baptist Church has co-existed with its neighbor, Hilton Head Island Airport, for decades. But last year’s expansion of the airport’s runway and the resulting increase in takeoffs and landings by larger regional airplanes is more than members of the 133-year-old church can take.

Denise K. Spencer was honored at a retirement party April 9 at Sea Pines Country Club. Spencer served as president and CEO of Community Foundation of the Lowcountry for more than 12 years. Under her leadership, the group more than doubled its combined assets to more than $72 million. She also was instrumental in developing the partnership to give all Hilton Head Island residents access to public sewer as part of the Project SAFE initiative.

Speakers at the event included Herbert Ford, commissioner at Hilton Head Public Service District; David Bennett, former mayor of Hilton Head: and Eddy Hoyle, former executive director of Memory Matters. Hilton Head Island Town Council member David Ames presented Spencer with a commendation from the town. Spencer’s successor, Christopher Kerrigan, started last month.

Augustin may have been adopted by now, but if not, the friendly, 60-pound golden retriever mix is in good hands at the new Beaufort County Animal Campus in Okatie. He’s got a spacious kennel with a doggy door separating private inside and outside areas, a large play yard where he can run with his friends, staff who walk him on a leash on a path around a small lake and volunteers who pet him. When potential adopters come to see Augustin, they’ll take him outside to an acquaintance yard or, if it’s raining, they’ll get to know him in a comfortable meet-and-greet room.

PADDLE BACK IN TIME WITH OUTSIDE HILTON HEAD DURING A TRIP TO PAGE ISLAND

More than three centuries have passed since the Yemassee left their historic home in the Georgia mountains, looking to escape encroachment by Spanish settlers and make a new life amid the bountiful land and waters around what we now know as Hilton Head and Daufuskie islands.

In most ways, Amber Faust is like any other mother of three: constantly busy, splitting her time between work, activities, and driving her kids all over Beaufort County. But there is one thing Faust has that many of us don’t: an Instagram following of more than 200,000.

With her website (faustisland.com) and Instagram account (@faustisland), Faust has built a small empire as a professional social media influencer.

Ever since Laura Cramer graduated from Duke University and then Washington University with a master’s degree, she has been a doer. A former college registrar and dean, she’s been active in local civic affairs, government, a board member at various organizations, and a top producer selling Sea Pines real estate for more than 40 years.

Sea Pines Country Club has selected golf course architect Phil Smith to create a masterplan for its Arnold Palmer-designed Club Course. Smith has more than 30 years of experience working with PGA Tour and golf course design legends Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf. He has led numerous high-profile renovations, including a complete redesign of the Phoenician Golf Club.

SAVING FOR RETIREMENT IS STILL POSSIBLE FOR RISING NUMBER OF SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS

For many looking to cast off the corporate shackles and live in the freelance eat-what-you-kill, work-in-your-PJs wilds of the gig economy, there is one very large incentive keeping them in the 9-to-5. No, it’s not the endless supply of free birthday cakes that seem to pop up weekly in your typical office — although freelancers do miss them from time to time. It’s the chance to invest in your future.

Coastal Long Term Rental Company has opened a second location in Bluffton. The company has been serving property owners, investors and renters on Hilton Head Island for nearly 40 years. The new location is at 7 Simmonsville Road in Bluffton.

If you’re planning to do some home improvement projects this year, it’s important to spend your money wisely. What you'll get back on your investment when you eventually sell your home depends on a variety of factors: the value of your house, the value of houses in your immediate neighborhood, how soon you sell after making improvements, and the quality of the project itself. Installing a $10,000 stove in a $200,000 house, for example, usually isn’t a good idea.

The Estuary, a new gated subdivision, is planned for Fish Haul Road next to the Arthur Hills Golf Course at Palmetto Hall Plantation, said Village Park Group marketing manager Leslie Ehlers. Buyers will be able to choose from several models offer three, four or five bedrooms.

The homes will be priced in the mid-$300,000s. Construction on the homes will not start for a few months, but Village Park Group has begun clearing trees and installing utilities at the site.

The bridal registry is a long-standing wedding tradition, an easy way for couples to indicate to their loved ones some of the gifts that would help them start their marriage in style. The first bridal registry dates back to 1924, when couples were mainly registering for things like china, silver and crystal patterns. Over the years, brides and grooms began registering for other kinds of items for their homes, from bath linens to garden tools. But today’s couples are marrying later and often living together first, which means their homes are pretty well equipped long before they walk down the aisle.

Rachel Eudy had always wanted a fall wedding. She loves the outdoors, so when she and her now-husband, David, decided to get married, they knew they wanted nature to play a big part in their September nuptials.

Friend Tim Wright offered to let the couple use the Lowcountry-style clubhouse at The Paddocks, a neighborhood nestled alongside a stretch of Hilton Head Island wetlands.